


Can I have this dance?

by giorginaBM



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Tik Tok prompt, Yule Ball, enemies to lovers?, goblet of fire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28429260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giorginaBM/pseuds/giorginaBM
Summary: Draco Malfoy had been your sworn arch-rival since first year, but one night at the Yule ball has you seeing him in a different light.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Reader
Kudos: 30





	Can I have this dance?

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt idea provided by Tik Tok user @founderofazkaban.
> 
> This is what I imagine Draco and yourself to be dressed like: https://www.instagram.com/p/CD-mP1rAWqt.

The Yule Ball was everything you had imagined it to be and more. The great hall had been re-envisioned as a winter wonderland: snow-covered Christmas trees took centre stage at the very front of the hall, acting as a backdrop for the orchestra currently being guided to play an unknown, slow melody by Professor Flitwick no less; lavish, silver canopies draping the outskirts of the room accentuated the “icy” atmosphere Dumbledore was clearly striving for; and the snow mysteriously falling from the ceiling despite the warmth radiating inside was just the cherry on top of an already magical evening. You had been accompanied to the ball by some sixth-year Durmstrang student who had politely asked you to be his date one afternoon by the great lake, but he had been long forgotten by this point in favour of spending the remainder of the evening with your friends. Laughter filled the air; the train of your maroon, floor-length gown billowed behind you as you were first twirled by Harry then Ron. However, when the song was suddenly changed and the long-drawn notes of the waltz could be heard throughout the hall, Harry was quick to claim the first dance with you, while a red-faced Ron was left to dance with Lavender Brown: a fellow fifth-year student who had been trailing the poor Weasley like a lost puppy since second year. You sent Ron an empathetic grimace, but nonetheless giggled at the foolishness of it all alongside Harry and Hermione, who remained safe in the hands of her date, Viktor Krum. 

Harry wasn’t the greatest of dancers, and it took a few accidental stomps on the foot for you to both realise it would be easier if you just took the lead. So far you were having the time of your life; you were feeling the most confident and graceful you had ever been in your life wearing the dress handed down from daughter to daughter for generations in your family, you had drunk a gut-full of the phoenix feather punch, which you had later found out had unsurprisingly been spiked by Fred and George, and you were now dancing with three of your best friends in a hall so grandiose it were as if it had popped right out of the pages of a great romance novel. However, that moment was short-lived as it was interrupted by the sudden change in tempo, signalling it was time for the changing of partners. You had been confident when you had chosen to dance alongside Ron that you would be handed into his arms next, but unbeknownst to you, the red-head had fled the dance floor after his partner attempted to kiss him under some suspiciously hanging mistletoe. By the time you had noticed he had disappeared, it was too late. Harry had not-so-graciously twirled you to the right and into the arms of the next gentleman. The music once again slowed down, and when you looked up to see who your new, mystery partner was, the smiled dropped from your face. Standing in front of you was none other than Draco Malfoy, your arch-rival, who met your gaze with a sneer. You and Draco had a long history that began the moment you, Harry, Ron and Hermione had first crossed his path on the front steps of Hogwarts many years ago.

_“So it’s true – what they’re saying on the train,” a platinum-haired boy with a smug grin said. “Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts.”_

_The crowd surrounding you, Ron and Harry erupted into strained whispers. No doubt expressing their shock at being in the presence of the infamous “boy who lived”. Though you didn’t see what the huge fuss was about. From what you had witnessed and from what little Harry had told you both so far, Harry was just a slightly- above-average wizard who wanted to complete his schooling like everyone else._

_“This Crabbe and Goyle, and I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy,” the boy continued._

_You inwardly chuckled to yourself at such a pompous name – it definitely matched the equally pompous attitude he adorned. However, Ron made the unfortunate of mistake of snorting aloud, catching the prat’s attention._

_“Think my name’s funny, do you? There’s no need to ask yours. Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley.”_

_“And you must think your arse is hat considering you have your head shoved far enough up it,” you stepped in, not liking the tone he had taken with your new friend._

_“No one asked for your opinion, you filthy, little mudblood.”_

_Gasps resounded among the group at the use of such a degrading word. You had been warned by many that there would be people would didn’t take kindly the muggle-born witches and wizards, but never did you expect to hear the slurs commonly spouted from people with such views in the walls of Hogwarts. It was enough to make you bow your head, embarrassed at the looks you received, and not say another word._

_“You’ll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don’t want to be making friends with the wrong sort, or with mudbloods for that matter. I can help you there.”_

_“I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself thanks.”_

_You smirked up at Malfoy from under the curtain of your hair at Harry’s response. Malfoy cast you another sneer, about to throw another insult no doubt, before he was interrupted by Professor McGonagall who eventually led the group of newcomers into the hall for their sorting._

Ever since then, the quartet had all grown a mutual dislike for the platinum douche as you infamously liked to call him, but none of them as much as you. The entire school knew of the rivalry between you and Malfoy; how could they not when you both tried so desperately to outsmart the other whenever the opportunity arose, nor when you cast sneers and subtle insults at one another whenever your paths would cross. Now, standing in front of each other, both maintaining angry, cold eye contact, the tension and the anger that had long been building bubbled over, spilling onto to the surrounding students who watched on in interest and in horror. Everyone expected you both to walk away, refusing to dance with the other on the grounds of pure spite. However, despite your differences, the one thing the pair had in common was their stubbornness and determination, and it’s that same stubbornness and determination to not be the first one to chicken out and walk away that inspired the next move. With that ever-present sneer you wanted to knock right off his face, Draco took your left hand with his right and harshly grabbed your waist with the other, making you hiss out in slight pain. 

The hard, cold eye contact you shared never once faulted as you danced gracefully across the floor while everyone watched on with slack jaws. Never in a million years did anyone expect you and Draco to be within arms length of each other, much less dancing chest to chest like you were on this night; faces closer than they’ve ever been before, even if both held pure anger. You hated to admit it, but Draco was a much better dancer than Harry had been, and you found it without challenge to glide in-between the other dancing couples without stepping on each other’s toes. The music crescendoed in the background and you felt his arms encircle your waist and lift you over his head with the ease of someone who had played quidditch most of his life. You tried your best not show how impressed you actually were at the elegance he executed, as well as the welcome surprise you had felt when his arms had encircled your waist and the muscles in his arms protruded slightly out of his tight dress robes. Standing metres apart for the first time ever, you noticed things about him you never had before. Frown lines took majority of the space on his forehead, despite only being fourteen; subtle purple shadows hung under his eyes, almost as if he had never experienced a good night’s sleep; and the obvious tension in his shoulders matched the ones of those who held a hefty amount of emotional baggage on them. Time seemed to slow significantly as you suddenly looked at Draco in a different light, and he with you. You both had failed to notice that the other couples had stopped dancing to watch both of you in awe ages ago, Harry included, and it was just the pair of you on the dance floor when the music died out and the waltz you both had been entranced in came to an end. And with that, the fleeting moment that had surpassed was concluded; Draco snapped out of his dreamy daze and abruptly broke away as if the last few minutes had never happened. Casting one final sneer, Draco turned on his heel and pushed his way through the crowd of students, presumably to retreat to his common room for the remainder of the night. It was clear to see that the rivalry between the two fourth-years hadn’t changed, but you would be lying if you said the foundations of yours and Malfoy’s relationship hadn’t been shaken even slightly.


End file.
